In its labs, StoreDot has developed new molecules that enable a
specialized lithium-ion battery to be rapidly charged. Coupled with a
similarly specialized charging unit, you can charge your phone in six
minutes, one minute and even in 30 seconds, depending on the charger
model you're using.
StoreDot's most practical solution is its
50-amp charger, which can power a phone to 100% in about six minutes.
It's called the "x20" because it charges your phone 20 times faster than
today's charging solutions.
The x20 is the easiest of
StoreDot's offerings to implement, because it comes with a pocket-sized
wall charger -- and charging a phone any faster requires a direct
connection to the battery and a monstrous charging pack..
The
x100 (you guessed it -- 100 times faster) requires you to bump up the
current to 200 amps. Smartphone makers will also have to drill holes
through the back, which doesn't exactly adhere to today's design
standards. But imagine plugging your phone in for a half minute and
having a full charge. You'd likely trade some aesthetics for that. This phone charged from 12% to 100% in 5 minutes. StoreDot CEO Doron Myersdorf acknowledges that each solution has its drawbacks and limitations.
Even the x20 model requires a special 20-pin connector that looks
similar to the old iPhone and iPod connectors. As most of the industry
migrates to the universal USB Type-C connector, it's going to take some convincing to move back to a specialized one.
"They can implement it however they want, but I need 20 pins to do it," Myersdorf said in an interview.
The x100's charger is bigger than your smartphone itself and definitely not something you'd want to lug around in a bag.
The StoreDot charging solutions also add about $30 of cost to each
smartphone. After suppliers and the smartphone makers take their cuts,
Myersdorf predicts it would make smartphones about $60 more expensive.
That could be a deal-breaker for many, particularly as smartphone prices
are falling through the floor.
Still, Myersdorf says StoreDot
has generated a significant amount of interest from smartphone companies
-- and $66 million in funding.
StoreDot is currently working
on a cheaper solution. But there's still a long road ahead until it sees
the light of day. It needs to clear all kinds of regulatory approvals
(Myersdorf claims it's actually safer than traditional lithium-ion
batteries, because it's less prone to combustion). And the cost will
continue to be a problem for several years.
He predicts that
the first StoreDot batteries will appear on the market in 2017. But by
2018, as the technology begins to be adopted more quickly, Mysersdorf
thinks the cost of putting StoreDot charging solutions in smartphones
will be about the same as today's batteries.